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TAMU COMM 205 Automated Drilling Wiki
'Problems and Hazards on a Drilling Rig' The process of automated drilling and the problems it solves include: : Risk of Human Life : Rig Disasters : Underground Drilling Errors : Solutions Risk of Human Life There is a large potential for human error on a drilling rig and just as great is the potential for loss of human life. First and foremost, this human risk is due to the difficulty of the task at hand. From Kayla Webley's report in Time Magazine, we find that most rig workers hold average 12 hour shifts for about 4 weeks straight. During this time, it is the job of each of these rig hands to help in drilling a hole down into our earth in an attempt to control some of the most highly combustible and dangerous material known to man, oil and natural gas. All during this time, there is constant commotion and movement of heavy steel machinery and pipes along with many other dastardly devices and materials. In the 2011 Fatal Occupational Injuries report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, out of 385 fatal job accidents caused by equipment, 155 of which were caused by caonstruction, logging, and drilling equipment. Another imporant variable is the overall number of individuals in harms way on a drilling rig. Each rig requires toolpushers, drillers, derrickhands, motorhands, and roughnecks in order to run efficiently. In the case of offshore , the number of people on a rig increase dramatically due to larger number of necessary workers as well as the additional cooks and doctors needed on the rig. And as reported by Simone Sebastian in his Houston Chroncicle article, the number of rigs in the US has quadrupled in the past few years to 1,272 according to the Baker Hughes Rig Count. Therefore, there are now more rigs in the US than anywhere else is the world as well as much greater potential for risk. Rig Disasters The small accidents and little errors that occur on a drilling rig can lead to very tragesies out in the field. Therefore, safety is a huge concern on every Rig in the US. Safety is the one element protecting the many workers on a drilling rig from disasters including blowouts, structural damage, and oil spills. Underground Drilling Errors Rigs experience many problems caused by miscalculation. For instance, the drilling process can bring about some of the most crucial miscalculations. When drilling first got its start, most wells were drilled vertically, straight down to reach oil and gas. However, there began to arise increased trouble accessing resources located below an above ground landmark or resource. Therefore, various attempts were made at slant drilling until finally Horizontal drilling was born. Along with the birth of horizontal drilling also came the new problem: maintaining knowledge of where you were drilling underground. This last process is much easier said than doen because you cannot just look underground for your bit. Instead, the method of madneticlic wireline steering was utilized. Basically this method placed a magnet on a wireline down the hole and used earth's poles in order to calculate the direction that the hole was heading. This wireline method proved both simple and effective until an increased number of drilling collars, piping, and liners began to be used downhole. At this point, the magets began to cause miscalulations as the steel from the tubing began throwing off the direction calculations. With this miscalculation also came the nicreased risk of drilling through water tables, other underground resources, or even worse: drilling up into your own backyard. Solutions Solutions to improving the working conditions aboard an oil rig include Mechanization, which is the replacement of human personnel in hazardous roles with machines, and Automation, which is the replacement of manual control of rig operational and safety equipment with computer control. These methods are generally related, and provide for a more methodical operation of oil rigs, thus making it the job of human personnel to focus on fault correction as opposed to actual rig operation. Ultimately, the goal of automation and mechanization is to make oil rigs and drilling operations safer for both the personel on board and for the environment. See Also Automation Mechanization Pros and Cons of Automation and Mechanization References Boles, Corey, and Siobhan Hughes. "BP, Regulators Are Grilled On Hill Over Key Decisions." The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal, 28 May 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. . Sebastian, Simone. "U.S. Oil Gusher Blows out Projections." Houston Chronicle. Houston Chronicle, 18 Feb. 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. . Wardt, John De. "Drilling Systems Automation." One Petro. International Petroleum Technology Conference, 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . Webley, Kayla. "Just How Dangerous Are Oil Rigs, Anyways?" Time. Time Magazine, 24 Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. . Category:Browse Category:Problems